Little Evenstar
by Samantha20
Summary: Aragorn and Arwen have a child together before Aragorn leaves with the Fellowship. Then, while he is away something goes wrong in Rivendell.
1. Prologue

A/N: Here we go again, another story, another new beginning.  
  
Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did writing it. As always, I love your feedback.  
  
Samantha.  
  
Prologue.  
  
"Be easy, nin melath. All will soon be well." Aragorn spoke, somewhere near her ear.  
  
As the pain passed Arwen opened her eyes, startled once more by the bright light before her eyes adjusted. "Call for my Father." She told him, "It is almost time. I can feel it."  
  
"I am here Arwen. It is alright, you are doing well, nin iell." Lord Elrond spoke, rising from one of the chairs across the room.  
  
"I wish Naneth was here, Ada." She whimpered as the pain came again.  
  
Gently Elrond laid his palm over Arwen's forehead, feeling the thin film of sweat gathered there, dampening her long dark hair. Using his other hand he brushed a handful of her tresses away from her face, putting them to rest behind her shoulders.  
  
"Please Ada, make it stop."  
  
"I cannot Arwen. It will be over soon. Stay strong for us. For your child ai Naneth."  
  
Beside her she felt Aragorn move to take her gently by the hand. "We can do this A'melamin. We can make it." He said reassuringly.  
  
"How can we do this?" Arwen bit out. "You aren't doing anything."  
  
Lost once more in the ever-consuming pain Arwen failed to notice the looks exchanged between Aragorn and Elrond.  
  
It was hours before Arwen's child entered the world, born as the stars began to appear in the twilight.  
  
Wailing and bloody Elrond laid the infant, wrapped only in a birthing cloth , in her mother's waiting arms.  
  
"She is beautiful, this little one." Elrond said, looking affectionately at his daughter and newborn granddaughter. "Just like you when you were born, Arwen."  
  
"She is perfect." Arwen spoke, almost whispering, gazing down at the tiny infant, her nin iell.  
  
"That she is." Aragorn said, smiling. "With her mother she could hardly be anything but." He smiled at the two most beautiful creatures he had ever seen in waking or dreaming.  
  
Carefully Elrond took the tiny infant from her mother's arms, passing her to a nurse who would take the little Elven princess to bathe and dress.  
  
Arwen stared after her, instantly in love with the baby she could hear crying as the nurse carried her down the hallway to the washroom.  
  
"What will you call her?" Elrond asked the pair, jolting Arwen out of her thoughts.  
  
Aragorn squeezed her hand as Arwen leaned back into the pile of pillows behind her. "I don't know what we should call her, Arwen. We only chose a name for a boy."  
  
"Luthien." Arwen spoke softly. "We will call her Luthien Tinuviel, after my grandmother of old."  
  
"Luthien." Aragorn sounded the name out. "It is a fitting name for her, born in the evening."  
  
"Lovely." Elrond told them, remembering the infant's delicate features and dark hair. "Rest now Arwen. This labor was long and hard on you. Give your mind and body time to recover."  
  
"I will Ada." She said softly, sleep already clouding her mind. With her words she drifted into oblivion, allowing sleep to claim her. 


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: The baby is called Luthien for a reason. It was intentional and not an accident.  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed.  
  
Samantha.  
  
Chapter 1.  
  
Several days later Arwen and Aragorn stood upon the lower balcony of Arwen's and Elrond's private residence.  
  
"Mae govennan." Elrond greeted the Elves who milled below, eager to see their Evenstar and eager for their first glimpse of her new daughter.  
  
"Two days ago, Lady Arwen and Lord Aragorn welcomed the arrival of their first child, a daughter." Elrond told the people, who cheered in response.  
  
The infant cradled in Arwen's arms, baby Luthien was startled by all of the noise and wailed loudly. Smiling Arwen soothed her daughter, and then waited for her father to continue.  
  
"The child has been named Luthien, after her grandmother of old. We welcome her here to Rivendell." Lord Elrond's words were met once more, with loud cheers.  
  
Arwen cradled Luthien in her arms so that the Elves below could see her tiny daughter, their new princess. "Mae govennan, Tinuviel!" Several Elves called.  
  
"According to the customs of old, I give to my precious granddaughter the Elven jewel Carandil, the star of Rivendell. May her fate ever be intertwined with this place." Elrond spoke for the last time, laying the lilac colored jewel around the child's tiny neck, then bowed to Luthien, still held protectively in her mother's arms.  
  
Then a Wood Elf ascended the stairs, bowing before Arwen, Aragorn and Luthien.  
  
"A gift to the child I bring from distant Mirkwood." The Elf began.  
  
"You are known to us, Legolas Thranduilion." Arwen said to him, bowing her head to him.  
  
"She is truly a beautiful child." Legolas said to her. "Just like her mother.  
  
"Thank you." Arwen answered, smiling at him. Aragorn beamed with fatherly pride.  
  
"From Mirkwood to Rivendell I bring to the newborn Lady Luthien the Book of Ages, and an invitation for her to journey to Mirkwood, whenever she so wishes." Once more Legolas bowed, then passed the Book into Aragorn's hands and stood to the side with Elrond.  
  
Another blonde Elf approached, bowing and making the correct obeisance to the child.  
  
"Haldir of Lothlorien, you are also known to us." Arwen spoke gently.  
  
"From fair Lothlorien, and the city of Caras Galadhon, I bring to the Lady Luthien greetings and prayers from the Lord and Lady, as well as the Envinyatar Stone. May the Grace of the Valar always shine upon Hiril-ai'."  
  
Haldir's words were met with gentle applause, so as not to frighten Luthien once more.  
  
In the soft starlight, Arwen sat on the edge of the stone fountain in her garden, cradling Luthien, wrapped in a white embroidered shawl to ward off the chill in the night air.  
  
Arwen smiled up at the stars, pointing them out to her small daughter, and telling her some of their stories.  
  
Softly she began to sing the Lay of Luthien, the tale of her grandmother of old, baby Luthien's namesake.  
  
The notes carried clearly in the night air. The tiny baby smiled up at her mother, cooing in her babyish way, and reaching up to stroke the soft skin on her mother's face.  
  
"Arwen?" Called a voice.  
  
"I am here Aragorn." She answered, knowing his voice immediately.  
  
"I was wondering where you were." Aragorn moved to sit beside her, reaching out to pass a gentle hand over his daughter's dark waves.  
  
"I was showing Luthien the stars."  
  
"And singing to her as well." He smiled.  
  
"The Lay is appropriate for her." Arwen said to him.  
  
"Only if she marries a mortal man." Aragorn answered.  
  
"She's only a baby, my love. We won't have to worry about Luthien marrying for many years yet."  
  
"What about us? When will we marry?" Aragorn asked her.  
  
"When our time comes, and when the time is right." Arwen told him. "There are still many things you are yet accomplish, A'melamin. We will be married, soon. Do not despair."  
  
"I shall not." Aragorn fell silent for a moment. "I am to ride out with Elladan and Elrohir tomorrow and meet with several of the Dunedain. I do not know when I shall return to you."  
  
"That is well." Arwen told him. "I may yet take Luthien to Lothlorien, so that she can meet my grandparents, her great-grandparents." Arwen rested her head on his shoulder, allowing them to sit quietly in the moonlight, until they carried Luthien inside placing her in the hand-carved cradle Erestor had made for the baby, leaving their sleeping daughter in the care of her nurse. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.  
  
Early the next morning Arwen rose and dressed, wanting to see Aragorn once more before her left.  
  
She retrieved Luthien from the nursery, before going down to the courtyard where Aragorn stood with Elladan and Elrohir, all three of them tacking up their horses and packing supplies.  
  
"Arwen!" He exclaimed, seeing her approach.  
  
"You didn't think I'd let you go without saying goodbye, did you?" Arwen told him.  
  
Aragorn shook his head. "I wasn't sure if you'd bring Luthien, with you if you came."  
  
"Of course." Arwen told him. "You can see her now, and then when you come home you'll be able to see how much she's grown."  
  
"Are you angry with me?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"You do what you need to, nin melath. Our time will come." She said, kissing him.  
  
Aragorn then leaned down to kiss Luthien gently on her little forehead. "Namarie, little one. Be well for you mother."  
  
"Tenna' ento lye omenta." Arwen called to the three of them as they rode out the gates of Rivendell. *Until we next meet.*  
  
Many months later, when Luthien was smiling and laughing and sitting up all by herself, Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir returned, along with several of Aragorn's kinsmen, the men of the Dunedain.  
  
Arwen, having been told by Glorfindel of their impending arrival waited in the courtyard, on the steps of the Hall of Elrond, Luthien held once more in her mother's arms, the little girl holding an elanor blossom in her small hand, careful not to crush it, even at her tender age.  
  
Aragorn pulled his horse up suddenly as he saw the two of them, halting just in front of the steps. "Arwen!"  
  
"Welcome home." She called, shifting Luthien in her arms so that the little girl could see her father. "Ada has come home to you, precious." She told her daughter.  
  
Aragorn swung down from the saddle and rushed to embrace her. Luthien, caught between them, whimpered a little.  
  
"Hush, my little one." Arwen told her, as she broke off her embrace.  
  
"She's so beautiful, so much bigger than I remember her." Aragorn took his daughter's small hand in his own.  
  
"Children grow up, my love." Arwen told him fondly. "Walk with us." She gestured for one of the grooms to take his horse. Then Aragorn held his arms out to take Luthien, and slid his other arm around her waist.  
  
"We missed you while you were away." Arwen told him.  
  
"Did you get the messages I sent?" Aragorn asked her.  
  
Arwen smiled. "Thank you for sending them."  
  
"I brought something home for Luthien." Aragorn sat down on the edge of the fountain and set Luthien down on the grass. Then he reached into his waistcoat and produced a small bag full of carved animals. "Do you think she'll like them?"  
  
"Why don't you show her and see." Arwen encouraged him.  
  
Gingerly he sat down on the grass beside her and spoke softly in Elvish, offering her the animals. Luthien's face lit up with recognition of the animals, while Aragorn's face was just as excited.  
  
Arwen stood when she heard her father approaching. Before he could speak she hushed him, not wanting to disrupt the father and daughter. "Do you remember playing with me when I was little Ada?"  
  
Elrond's face softened. "I do, little one. It is good to see that she knows him."  
  
"It does my heart good to see the two of them so happy." Arwen breathed, resting her head on her father's shoulder even as they stood.  
  
"It does my heart good to see you so happy, my daughter." Elrond told her.  
  
Aragorn turned to say something to Arwen and realised that Lord Elrond was there too. "My Lord, my apologies, I should have come to speak with you as soon as I arrived."  
  
"No apologies are necessary, Estel." Elrond told him, using the name he had given Aragorn in his childhood.  
  
Aragorn stood leaving Luthien on the grass with her wooden animals. As Aragorn began to walk away from her she began to wail. Unsure of what to do he looked over at Arwen.  
  
"She only wants to be with you, my Lord." Arwen told him, smiling as Aragorn leaned down to pick her up. At once the small child stopped wailing and began to smile and laugh once more.  
  
"I have missed so much, not being here with her, and you." Aragorn told Arwen.  
  
"Not much could be done about it, Aragorn." She said dismissively.  
  
"Come then, my children." Elrond told them. "There will be a feast in the Hall of Fire to celebrate the arrival, and then the parting."  
  
"The parting?" Arwen asked him.  
  
"I must ride out again tomorrow. I am sorry Arwen. I had hoped to spend more time here with you and Luthien." Aragorn told her, sounding apologetic.  
  
Arwen lowered her eyes before either could see the disappointment and sadness that lingered there. "I must go then, I have to dress Luthien and myself for dinner." She told them, hurriedly excusing herself.  
  
"Arwen, please, leave Luthien with me while you dress. I will watch her. The next time I am able to see her , she may be quite a bit older." Biting back tears Arwen nodded and left Luthien with her father.  
  
In her chambers Arwen was interrupted by Elrond, just as she was finishing with her dressing.  
  
Elrond knocked lightly and then entered. "It pains you that he must leave so soon, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes it pains me. But I will endure." Arwen turned from him to face her mirror once more, beginning to dress her hair, still damp from the long perfumed bath she had taken.  
  
"If I could do anything to ease your pain you know I would." Elrond told her.  
  
She nodded her head. "I know. Do not despair for me Ada, I have made my choice. I do not despair for myself."  
  
"I will leave you then. Lihra will bring Luthien to you shortly. Aragorn will seek council later this evening." Elrond spoke. Arwen did not answer him, nor did she turn to face him. Reflected in the mirror Elrond saw the tears on his daughters cheeks, but knew that there was nothing he could do relieve her pain.  
  
Once Lihra had brought Luthien to her, just out of the bath, Arwen proceded to dry and dress the young Elven princess and braid her already long hair.  
  
Finally Lord Elrond arrived at her room to collect her and lead her to the Hall of Elrond, named for him, the Master of Rivendell since it's creation as a safe haven for any Elf who so chose to seek safety there.  
  
Her dress was of dark purple, which glittered with the light of stars as she moved, while Luthien was clad in a mantle of silver grey, to compliment her pale skin and dark hair, inherited from both of her parents.  
  
Arwen herself wore a mantle covering her hair, made of fine net, embroidered with jewels, to shine like stars in her hair, while on her brow rested a circlet of silver, with a single white jewel shining from it. Around her neck she wore the Evenstar necklace, a symbol of her goodness, beauty and longivity.  
  
"You look lovely, my daughter." Elrond told her, just before they entered the Hall.  
  
"Thank you Ada." She answered, a sad undertone still lingering in her voice. Leaving go of his hand she bowed to her father, and then walked to her place at the table, set midway down, a chair beneath a canopy of silk and satin.  
  
Erestor, one of her father's dearest friends, and a hold-father to Luthien held her chair out for her, while Corbe took Luthien as her mistress sat down. Looking around the table she found that it was set for many, a strange assortment of Elves, Men, and other folk as well. To her father's right side sat Elladan and Elrohir, while on the other side sat several Dwarves, each looking important and impressive.  
  
As the guests filtered into the room music began to play, haunting melodies with the harp, flute and violin. Arwen knew that she would be asked to play before the night was over.  
  
Many fair folk paused by her place, or stopped and spoke to her from the other side of the table, congratulating her on Luthien's birth, or on the decorations or music.  
  
Playing the perfect hostess, a role that she as Elrond's daughter was automatically assigned on the departure of her mother Celebrian to the Undying Lands, Arwen smiled and complimented the people as well, cooing praises on them and speaking softly with close friends.  
  
Long after the feast was over, and Corbe had escorted Arwen when she had taken Luthien from the celebrations and laid her in her crib.  
  
The sounds of music and laughter faded as they drew further and further away from the Hall, towards the Last Homely House, her and her father's private residence.  
  
Gently she set her sleeping daughter in her crib, covering her over with a warm blanket. "Goodnight my sweet one, may the stars shine bright in your dreams." Then she leaned down to kiss her daughter goodnight. Luthien sighed softly and moved slightly, but did not wake.  
  
"Go now my Lady. I will watch over her. You should be off. Your father will be waiting for you in the Hall of Fire." Corbe told her mistress.  
  
"If she wakes, bring her to me, Corbe." Arwen told her. "I am off now."  
  
Arwen's footfalls were silent as she retraced her steps to the Hall of Elrond, and then entered the Hall of Fire. Nearest to the fire Lord Elrond sat speaking with Aragorn and several of his kin, as well as Elladan and Elrohir. Bowing her head to the Men as she approached, Elrond gestured for her to sit.  
  
Aragorn looked curoiusly at her. "Where is Luthien, my Lady?"  
  
"Sleeping now." Arwen smiled at him. "It is much beyond her bedtime, she rests in a world of dreams. Corbe is watching over her."  
  
"I wish you had told me you were putting her to bed." Aragorn said, sounding a little upset.  
  
"If I had known you wanted to see her once more I would have brought her to see you before bed." Arwen said softly. "Corbe will bring her to me when she wakes." She offered, as a peacekeeping gesture.  
  
In spite of himself Aragorn smiled and twined his fingers in hers.  
  
They spoke and sung until deep into the night, with Arwen playing several times for everyone, for she was very talented when it came to the harp, able to produce melodies to sooth the soul, bring one to tears, or make listeners feel that their hearts would burst with pleasure.  
  
It was late when Corbe brought Luthien to her mother, the little girl quiet in her nurse's arms.  
  
Arwen smiled to see her. "Thank you Corbe."  
  
"Do you need me to stay, my Lady?" Corbe asked.  
  
Arwen shook her head. "No, enjoy the celebrations." She took Luthien from her arms and carried her over to where Aragorn sat with Elrond and the rest of his kin.  
  
"There you are little one." Aragorn smiled at his daughter.  
  
Elrond smiled at the infant as well. "Where is Corbe?"  
  
"I told her to go and enjoy herself." Arwen said to him. "I'll put Luthien back to bed later on."  
  
Aragorn held out his arms to cuddle his small daughter, his fatherly pleasure evident. Arwen stood beside him, her arm around his neck, relaxed. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.  
  
In the early hours of the morning Aragorn laid Luthien back in her crib and covered her over with the discarded sheepskin. "Good night my sweet one." He said softly, leaning over to kiss her.  
  
Arwen pulled at his hand and led him out into the gardens.  
  
There they sat together under the stars and spoke quietly to one another.  
  
"You know that I don't really want to go." Aragorn said to her.  
  
"I know that if you had the choice you'd be here with Luthien and I." Arwen answered.  
  
"Are you angry with me?"  
  
A smile played at the corners of her lips. "I don't get angry, my love."  
  
"No." Aragorn agreed. "You know nothing of anger or malice or hate."  
  
"I do not harbor those feelings. In a life as long as mine has already been there is no point." Arwen said quietly.  
  
"Eventually, those feelings consume, then if they are left long enough, there is nothing left to be saved."  
  
"How can I turn away from those feelings?" Aragorn asked quietly, hoping for an answer.  
  
"You will know what is right. If you become confused, stop and breathe." Arwen lay on her back, her belly moving slightly as she inhaled and exhaled. "It is the beginning and the end of life. It is the center of all life. Ask yourself, 'Am I calm? Am I at peace?' When you are calm and your mind is clear, you will know the right path to take."  
  
"How does that stop me from hating?" Aragorn asked, not quite understanding.  
  
"The grace of the Valar is upon you, and my grace is also. Life is the beginning and the end of all things. In order to live fully we look for love, unbidden hatred stems from that. Quell your feelings, remember the life, and the breath. Start at the beginning."  
  
Aragorn nodded, understanding what she was telling him. "Mordor is growing. It's power is reforming. The Tower of Barad-dur is rebuilt in the black lands, and the Dark One searches for his One Ring." He spoke, telling her of the troubles on his mind.  
  
"Isildur's Bane is found." Arwen looked up at the stars for several moments before speaking again. As she did so Aragorn knew she was looking to them for signs of the future. "You have no need to fear the past. You are Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself. The ancient circles of time will not meet your destiny. Past and present have no reason to collide. Your time will come, and you will make the choices he did not. You will defeat it."  
  
Aragorn sat quietly on the edge of the stone fountain, deep in thought.  
  
"A si i-Dhúath ú-orthor, Aragorn. Ú or le a ú or nin." *The shadow does not hold sway yet. Not over you, not over me.* Arwen spoke softly, sitting up and reaching out to touch his cheek.  
  
"Do you believe that?" He asked.  
  
"You know I do. Long ago I bound myself to you, knowing full well that I would have to foresake the immortal life of my people. I have done that for you. For hope." She told him.  
  
He laid his hand on her cheek, "I wish I could as hopeful as you, my Lady."  
  
"You only have to look inside yourself, Aragorn. Hope stems from you. The day will come when you bring hope to all those in despair." She kissed him. "If I could I would keep you here with me for all of time. But for now the world needs you more. Serve it with all of your heart and soul, my Ranger."  
  
"I will try Arwen. I will try not to give voice to my anger, and I will try not to lose hope." Aragorn said to her.  
  
"How could you lose hope, Aragorn? There is hope all around you, if only you look for it. Look to the stars, listen to the earth and to the wind. There is always hope, as long as there is light, somewhere, no matter how dim or far away, there is always hope."  
  
Early the next morning, with Luthien in her arms Arwen farewelled Aragorn once more. She stood watching until he and the other riders had faded from sight, then returned to her garden, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
  
She awaited his return for months upon months, watching Luthien grow from a little baby into a beautiful toddler, walking unsteadily, clutching at her mother's dress. She became more and more beautiful and more and more like her exquisite mother.  
  
Arwen passed the time, the long days on waiting, in her garden, with Luthien at her feet, always amazed at how quickly she learned new things, new words. 


	5. Chapter 4

OH MY GOD!!!! Sunday night I went to the Lord of the Rings Marathon, all three movies in roughly ten and a half hours!!!!!!  
  
Return of the King is sooooooooooooo good, everyone has to see it!!! I sobbed for the last hour or so!  
  
Chapter 4.  
  
Months after Aragorn had left, a friend of her father's Bilbo Baggins had come to Rivendell to live out the rest of his life.  
  
Arwen had welcomed his arrival, and Luthien adored him, spending much time sitting before him and listening to the stories he told her.  
  
His friendship with Aragorn made him closer to Luthien, for he often spoke of the Ranger to the little girl, telling all of the stories he knew of Aragorn.  
  
Late one night, after Arwen had sung her daughter to sleep, Elrond came to see her. He waited outside the nursery until Arwen emerged.  
  
"Arwen, there is something you must do." He began.  
  
"What is it Ada? Is everything all right?" She asked, concerned.  
  
"You must ride out immediately, take Asfaloth and ride West, towards Amun Sul, maybe as far West as the village of Bree. You must find Aragorn. He has four young hobbits with him, one of them carries the One Ring. It must reach Rivendell Arwen." Elrond told her, his voice deeply worried.  
  
"Have Corbe watch over Luthien, and tell her that I love her. Tell her that I will bring her Ada with me when I come home." She told her father.  
  
"I will Arwen. Now ride fast. May the grace of the Valar shine over you, my daughter." He said, embracing her tightly for a moment.  
  
"Amin melath lle, Ada. Make sure you take care of my baby." She told him. *I love you, father.*  
  
With those words she turned and hurried down to the stables where Glorfindel and Erestor held Asfaloth for her.  
  
"Ride hard, sweet Lady." Erestor told her.  
  
"The grace of the Valar goes with me." Arwen told him, before riding off into the night.  
  
She searched the country, always heading West, for two days, before reaching the Trollshaws.  
  
Messages from birds and small animals had told her that five Wraiths followed her beloved and his companions, making her hasten even more.  
  
Her heart told her that Aragorn was near, she only had to find him.  
  
Clearing her mind she stretched out in all directions to locate him. At once she heeled Asfaloth forward into the woods.  
  
Finally she found trace of him, fresh footprints. She pressed Asfaloth along the trail, and seeing someone rushing away from her she dismounted, and unsheathed her sword, laying along the person's neck. As she had neared she knew that it was Aragorn. "What's this? A Ranger caught off his guard." She said softly.  
  
He turned to face her. "Arwen." He threw both arms around her. "Thank the Valar you are here. One of the hobbits is afflicted by the wound of a Morgul Blade. He is very ill."  
  
"Where is he?" Arwen asked. "In a clearing not far from here, in front of the stone Trolls." Aragorn told her.  
  
"I will see you there." Arwen told him, turning to mount Asfaloth once more, and gallop towards the clearing.  
  
Once there she dismounted hurriedly and rushed to the fallen hobbit's side. "Frodo... Im Arwen. Telin le thaed. Lasto beth nîn, tolo dan na ngalad." She said to the hobbit. *I am Arwen. I've come to help you. Hear my voice. Come back to the light.* "Frodo?" She tried again, but received no answer. She felt Aragorn enter the clearing and kneel beside her. She glanced at him, "He is not going to last. We must get him to my father."  
  
She watched as he placed crushed athelas into the wound, and listened to Frodo's strangled cries. "There are five Wraiths behind you. Where the other four are I do not know."  
  
"Take him to Lord Elrond." Aragorn told her. "We will follow behind." He heaved the ailing hobbit up onto Asfaloth's back.  
  
"May the grace of the Valar go with you Aragorn, we will meet again in Rivendell." She told him, pausing as he gave her a leg into the saddle. "I will send horses for you."  
  
"Namarie, Arwen." She heard him say softly as she gave Asfaloth his head, and the big grey sped off into the night.  
  
She rode hard long into the night, as fast as Asfaloth could bear them, and into the next dawn.  
  
Arwen felt the horse tiring beneath her, he'd already galloped a long journey. "Come my friend, just to the borders of Rivendell. This is all I ask of you." She said to him.  
  
The horse snorted in reply and lowered his head, pushing himself faster, digging deeper to please his mistress.  
  
Long into the dawn, in the open fields near the Bruinen Asfaloth shied, almost unseating her, veering off in a different direction, though still heading towards Rivendell.  
  
Suddenly she could see a flash of darkness in the trees, and found herself urging Asfaloth faster.  
  
As they neared the borders several of the Wraiths came into view, others she could hear crashing through the trees. A sense of urgency filled her. Asfaloth had to get them to safety, she had to get Frodo and the One Ring to Rivendell, and she had to get home to Luthien.  
  
Steeling her courage she leaned with Asfaloth into his intricate twists and turns, always urging him faster, in an attempt to out-race the Wraiths.  
  
She winced as a tree branch whipped across her cheeks, and felt blood drip down her face, then suddenly Asfaloth's hooves clattered on stones, slipping a little as he galloped on, into the river.  
  
His churning legs threw up clouds of spray, drenching both her and Frodo from head to foot.  
  
Once he had done his duty and taken his mistress and her tiny companion safely over the border, the river Bruinen, he skidded to a stop.  
  
As they crossed the river, above the rush and swirl of water, Arwen heard a voice chanting endlessly.  
  
Then she saw a wall of water form in the Bruinen, and watched as it crashed down onto the Wraiths, drowning their horses and washing them away.  
  
A thunder of hoof beats approached her, making Arwen turn Asfaloth towards them and call out. "Ada help. He is fading." He voice was breathless and tainted with fear.  
  
"Be still little Evenstar." Erestor told her, as Elrond took Frodo on his own horse Calmacil, and raced back towards Rivendell.  
  
Erestor helped her onto another horse, and in time the two of them, accompanied by other Elven soldiers reached the fair city of Rivendell, the hidden refuge of the Elves. 


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.  
  
Although all of her instincts screamed at her to find Luthien, Arwen knew that she would be required at her father's side. Taking up a satchel full of healing herbs and other things she followed her father into the room he had placed Frodo in.  
  
It was many hours before she left the ailing hobbit's side, pained by his inane shouts and mutterings.  
  
Seeking solace she called Corbe to her, and took Luthien into the gardens with her, the weight gone from her heart now that she knew both the Ringbearer and her daughter were safe.  
  
As Luthien played, building little paddocks for the set of wooden animals Aragorn had brought her when he was last in Rivendell, Arwen sat beside her fountain, reading through accounts of the Rings of Power, including accounts of the One Ring, carried by Frodo Baggins.  
  
Erestor and Glorfindel found them there. Silently, both bowed, before Erestor spoke. "Lord Aragorn and the three remaining hobbits have entered our fair city. They seek audience with you as Lord Elrond is very busy. He cannot speak with them."  
  
"Lihra?" Arwen called to one of her handmaidens. "Take Luthien to her nurse."  
  
"Yes milady." The Elf woman answered, helping Luthien to tidy up her animals.  
  
"Thank the Valar you are safe!" Arwen exclaimed, upon seeing the four.  
  
"Where is Frodo?"  
  
"Is he all right?"  
  
The hobbits peppered her with questions.  
  
"Gentlemen, that is enough." Aragorn told them. Then he turned to Arwen once more. "Greetings to you Lady Undomiel. We thank you for your help."  
  
"Welcome to Rivendell." She answered him. "Walk with me, if you will."  
  
They fell into step around her, and Arwen began to speak once more. "We think Frodo will heal well. He came Rivendell in time and my Father was able to attend to him. I'm taking you to his chamber now."  
  
*************  
  
On the morning of Council of Elrond the sky was clear and the sun cast glittering rays of light over the fair of Rivendell.  
  
Arwen left Luthien safely in the care of her nurse Corbe, and dressed to attend the Council.  
  
On her father's arm Arwen walked into the courtyard where the Council was to be held. All of the guests waited for them.  
  
Everyone ceased their idle chatter at the sight of the Lady of Rivendell.  
  
"I trust that you are all acquainted." Elrond began. "I present to you my daughter, the Lady of Rivendell, Lady Arwen Undomiel."  
  
Politely Arwen bowed to the guests in traditional Elven style.  
  
Elrond lead her into the courtyard, pausing to seat her in the chair beside his own, the only seat in the circle that befitted a Lady of her station.  
  
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old." Elrond began. "You have been summoned to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the edge of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom." Lord Elrond paused. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."  
  
Arwen watched as the hobbit laid the One Ring on the table in the center of the group.  
  
"It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor." Boromir began. "Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe. Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"  
  
"You cannot wield it." Aragorn told him. "None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."  
  
"What would a Ranger know of this matter?" Boromir sneered at him.  
  
Legolas stood. "This is no mere Ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."  
  
"Aragorn? This is Isildur's heir?" Boromir asked.  
  
"And heir to the throne of Gondor." Legolas told him.  
  
"Havo dad, Legolas." Aragorn spoke to him in Elvish. *Sit down Legolas.*  
  
"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king." Boromir announced.  
  
"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it." Gandalf affirmed.  
  
"The One Ring must be destroyed." Arwen said quietly, forcing everyone to cease their conversations to hear her words. "This must be done before the storm of Sauron breaks upon these lands. I fear that if it breaks, not even peaceful Rivendell, a refuge for my people in Ages past, a place where those who feared him have hidden before, will be safe from the darkness." She stood, allowing her skirts to flow freely around her, rustling slightly in the breeze.  
  
"The Lady is right, you have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed." Elrond told them.  
  
"What are we waiting for?" Gimli, son of Gloin asked, standing to smash his ax down onto the One Ring.  
  
The ax head shattered leaving fragments on the table. Gimli was knocked off his feet. Using her own powers, Arwen was able to remain on her feet, shielding those in the circle from shrapnel.  
  
"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor, and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came." Elrond explained to all. "One of you must do this."  
  
"One does not simply walk into Mordor." Boromir told them. "It's black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air that you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."  
  
"If the errand is folly." Arwen spoke quietly again. "Then you have already failed, though the quest has not yet begun. Do not assume so much, Man of Gondor."  
  
"How can you tell us all this?" Boromir fired back at her. At once Legolas, her kinsman, and one of her closest friends came to her defense.  
  
"Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond and the Lady have said? The Ring must be destroyed!" Legolas demanded.  
  
"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!" Gimli asked.  
  
"And if we fail, what then? What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?" Boromir asked.  
  
"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli shouted. "Never trust an Elf!"  
  
As he spoke the rest of the company erupted into anarchy, people shouting and arguing between themselves.  
  
Arwen watched, her heart pained to see such a blatant show of disrespect and distrust between the ones who should have been united under the common goal of saving their Middle Earth.  
  
She watched as Frodo sat silently in his chair, as though he was deep in thought. Then he too leapt to his feet.  
  
"I will take it. I will take the ring to Mordor." Frodo began, "Though, I do not know the way."  
  
Beside him the Istari Gandalf the Grey sighed heavily, as though a great burden had been added to his shoulders. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins. For as long as it is yours to bear."  
  
Aragorn's eyes lingered on her for a moment before he strode over to stand beside the two. "If by my life or death I can protect you, then so be it. You have my sword."  
  
"And my bow." Legolas announced, as though expecting the dwarves to object.  
  
"And my ax." Gimli pledged.  
  
Boromir took in the sight of the small hobbit, still weakened from his injury caused by the Morgul blade. "You bear the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done." He pledged, joining the others.  
  
"Mr. Frodo isn't going anywhere without me." Sam interrupted from his hiding place. Elrond gave him a light scolding, though Arwen could see that he was pleased to see that the young hobbit would follow his master. After Sam, Merry and Pippin also joined the others, refusing to be left behind.  
  
Boromir began to argue with them.  
  
"Do you doubt their courage?" Arwen asked him, interrupting the Man's tangent. "They do not doubt yours."  
  
"Frodo we can help along the way. The other three..."  
  
Arwen cut him off. "May yet prove to be the only ones who continue on the quest once the One Ring begins to affect you. Do not underestimate their strength of will, mind or body. If you examine them closely you may find yourself lacking on some of the qualities they bring to the group."  
  
"If you fear we are lacking qualities, Lady, why then do you not join us?" Boromir asked.  
  
"Take your leave and apoligise to the Lady Arwen." Aragorn told him sternly. "She is not to be spoken to in such a manner."  
  
"Is that your decree or the Lord of Rivendell's?" Boromir asked.  
  
"Mine, but I'm sure Lord Elrond feels the same way." Aragorn told him.  
  
"Is it that this Lady is important to you in some way?" Boromir asked again.  
  
"This Lady..." Aragorn began.  
  
"I am the Lady of the fair city of Rivendell, and a Lady of the Golden Woods of Lothlorien. I am the mother of the Princess Luthien Tinuviel, who someday may be the Queen of Gondor, who is known only to her mother's people, the Elves, and to her father's, the Dunedain, Rangers of the North." Arwen told him.  
  
"You have already borne a Princess of Gondor?" He asked, shocked.  
  
"She is with her nurse, kept safe from harm in peaceful Rivendell." Aragorn told him.  
  
"Gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the journey to Mordor." Elrond called out.  
  
Arwen placed her hands on Frodo's head, her gaze gentle, almost maternal as she looked down at him. "I cannot go with you on this errand Frodo, but you will be under my grace, and under the light of the Evenstar. May the Valar watch over you on your path under the sky." 


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.  
  
Early the next morning, before the Fellowship left Rivendell on the first leg of their journey, Arwen appeared in the courtyard they were using as an assembly point, carrying the Princess Luthien with her.  
  
"Arwen." Gandalf greeted her warmly. "This must be the little Princess."  
  
"Yes, Gandalf, this is Luthien." Arwen said to the Istari.  
  
"Mae govennan." The little girl greeted him.  
  
"She is truly her mother's daughter." Galdalf said to Arwen, a sparkle in his grey eyes.  
  
"Manke Ada?" Luthien asked her mother, a pleading look on her young face. *Where's father?*  
  
"I told her we were going to see Aragorn." Arwen apoligised.  
  
"Well met again, Lady of Rivendell." Gadalf said in parting.  
  
"May the Valar shine on you all on your journey." She said softly, before walking away.  
  
"Arwen!" Aragorn called, waving to her from beside the pony they would take with them on the journey.  
  
"How are the preparations?" She asked.  
  
"They are well. We shall leave soon." He said, reaching out to take Luthien. She giggled as he tossed her in the air, then set her down on the pony's back, supporting her gently. "I shall miss you both." He said, turning to look at her.  
  
"We shall miss you too." Arwen answered taking Luthien from him and cuddling her small daughter.  
  
"I brought you something," He began, removing a small pouch from inside his tunic, and unwrapping it. "These are identical in all but size." He said laying one necklace around her neck, and the other around Luthien's. "I came by them the last time I had dealings with Dwarves. Starjewels for both of my stars. Undomiel and Tinuviel."  
  
Arwen embraced him with one arm, holding Luthien in the other. "May the Grace of the Valar, and the light of the Evenstar guide you safely back home to us." She said, almost in a whisper as she embraced him.  
  
"Thank you, my Evenstar." Aragorn said to her. "For our beautiful Luthien, for everything you have given me."  
  
"Aragorn, is there any room on the pony for..." Boromir began. "So this is the young Princess." He said, staring at Luthien. "The image of both her parents. Good day to you little Princess." Boromir bowed his head and returned to the others.  
  
"I must go now." Aragorn said to her.  
  
"We will see you to the gate." Arwen told him.  
  
"My heart will be with you." He said, before leaving her to join the others.  
  
As the nine members of the Fellowship filed through the gates of Rivendell Arwen choked back a sob, passing Luthien off to Corbe, and staring at the gates tears flowing freely down her cheeks. 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.  
  
Late one afternoon Aragorn and the remaining members of the Fellowship rode into Rivendell. They were greeted in the main courtyard by Glorfindel and Erestor, both close friends of Lord Elrond.  
  
As they dismounted, allowing their horses to be lead away, Aragorn looked around expectantly. "My apologies, Erestor." Aragorn interrupted his greeting, "But where is Arwen? She has never failed to meet me in all of the times I have returned."  
  
Glorfindel looked towards the gardens, while Erestor cleared his throat. "The Lady is indisposed, King Elessar. She asked that we come to meet you."  
  
"Is she ill?" Aragorn asked, alarmed. "Is Luthien well?"  
  
"I cannot say." Erestor answered.  
  
"Cannot? Or will not?" Aragorn demanded. "Where is Arwen? Where is my daughter?"  
  
"Estel, calm yourself." Lord Elrond said, walking out of the Hall of Elrond.  
  
"My Lord." Aragorn bowed his head respectfully. "Where-."  
  
"Arwen is not ill as you fear, she is fading." Elrond told him gravely. "Luthien was kidnapped, taken by some creature we have as yet, been unable to find."  
  
Aragorn's face fell. "When was Luthien taken?" He asked, shock and fear both evident in his voice.  
  
"She has been gone for over a month. Within a day the light of the Evenstar began to diminish." Elrond's voice was now filled with sorrow. "I have tried to convince her that we will find Luthien, but her hope fades more with each passing day. Now Arwen will barely leave her garden. She will not enter the Hall of Fire. I have even tried to convince her to sail for Valinor. She will have no part in it."  
  
"Where is she now?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"In her garden. It is the only place other than her chambers she will consent to go." Elrond said, watching as the younger man hurried off to find her, the paths well traveled by his feet.  
  
********  
  
Aragorn found her sitting beside her fountain, her fingertips playing lightly over the surface of the water. He stopped still, unwilling to disturb her, even now.  
  
Without turning around, she spoke. "You have finally come home then, Elessar?" Her voice was gentle, same as always, reassuring him. "I only wish you had come home sooner. I trust that Ada has told you everything?"  
  
"He told me that Luthien is missing, yes." Aragorn said gently.  
  
"I hate it Aragorn. I hate that this place reminds me so much of her." She turned gesturing to the place where he and Luthien had played with her carved animals, to the fountain where she has sung to Luthien as a baby, to the golden elanor flowers that sparkled in the grass.  
  
"Hush now, my love." Aragorn soothed her. "You are not yourself, Arwen."  
  
She resisted as he tried to pull her close, to try comfort her. "Please, don't touch me." Her eyes sparkled, full of tears as she pulled away.  
  
"Arwen, please... Let me help you." He pleaded.  
  
"Just leave me." Her voice suddenly seemed to echo her grief, and without speaking again she fled the garden.  
  
*******  
  
Hours later Arwen entered the Hall of Fire silently, bound by the protocol she had been taught since her birth, more than 2777 years ago.  
  
As she walked silently into the hall, light from the torches played over her, making her shine like the stars she was named for, her hair covered with a fine, silver net, held in place by the circlet of silver resting on her brow, a gem shining like starlight from the band. Her dress of white, banded with silver flowed gracefully from her body, the silver hem brushing the floor. She bowed her head to the men seated at the table, while her older brothers stood, Elladan took her gently by the hand, while Elrohir pulled her chair out for her, waiting until she was seated before returning to his own chair.  
  
"My apologies for being late." She lowed her eyes, not making any visual contact with anyone. "I was... indisposed."  
  
"It is well that you joined us, Lady Evenstar." Lord Elrond bowed his head to her in greeting.  
  
"Thank you Ada. How did you find the quest laid out for you?" She asked the others, trying to take the focus from herself, as well as be polite to Rivendell's distinguished guests.  
  
"It was well." Legolas told her, bowing his head, "The One Ring, along with Sauron, is destroyed. Middle Earth is again a free land."  
  
Though tears sparkled in her eyes, Arwen made no move to acknowledge them. "That is well then. What plans are underway for the members of the Fellowship?"  
  
"Merry, Pippin, Sam and I are on our way home, to the Shire." Frodo said, the heavy weight of the One Ring still affecting the young hobbit.  
  
"I know not where I shall remain, but from leaving Rivendell, Gimli and I are to return to Gondor with Aragorn for a time." Legolas told them.  
  
"I had thought to stay in Rivendell for a short time." Aragorn said to them. "I wish to find Luthien. Arwen I will send on to Gondor."  
  
"I am not going." She said quietly, shocking the whole table in to silence.  
  
"Not going?" Elladan echoed.  
  
"I will not set foot in Gondor. Not unless Luthien is safe in my arms." Tears sparkled in her eyes, her expression matching the quietness of her voice.  
  
"Arwen," Elrond began.  
  
"I would sooner journey for the Grey Havens, then sail on to Valinor than go to Gondor."  
  
"Then stay in Rivendell Arwen." Aragorn told her gently. "We will find Luthien, and bring her home to you. Then we can take her to Gondor together."  
  
Arwen's next words were as surprising as her refusal to go to Gondor. "Aragorn, Estel, Elessar, I beg you, let me go. Release me from the promises I made to you."  
  
Aragorn's expression became pained. "In all of the long years since we met Arwen, you have never asked me for a thing. If this is what you ask of me, then it shall be done."  
  
"Thank you." She said to him, almost whispering.  
  
"Do you wish to part from us Arwen?" Lord Elrond asked, noticing the pained expression on her face as the others stared at her.  
  
"I want to leave, Ada. I want to be somewhere free from all of these memories that haunt me."  
  
"Where would you go?" Elrond asked, "Away to Lorien? To Mirkwood? The Grey Havens?"  
  
"NO!" She exclaimed. " I want to go somewhere I've never been before. Somewhere that nothing reminds me of Luthien or of Elves or Orcs, or any of the other things that haunt me."  
  
"You are an Elven Lady." Elrond told her. "Where in Middle Earth have you never been before?"  
  
"I don't know!" She told him, thumping her closed fists down on the table, a gesture very much out of character for the softly spoken Lady.  
  
"The Shire." Frodo said quietly. "Before the Council of Elrond you told me that you'd never been there. You asked what it was like there. If you wish it Lady, come to the Shire, stay with me at Bag End and you shall be welcome for as long as you would stay."  
  
Arwen looked to her father, while Elrond looked in turn to Aragorn, noting the pained expressions on both of their faces.  
  
"You have my leave to do whatever you feel will bring you peace my daughter." Elrond said at last, fixing his pale eyes on her. "Take your leave of Rivendell if you so choose."  
  
Aragorn spoke next. "Arwen, I-."  
  
"Please, don't." She said softly, staring up at him with her unearthly blue eyes, so vivid against the pale lines of her face. "I cannot take anymore, but I have asked only that you release me. Release me from the bonds I made to you, and now I ask you to forget all about me, mela en' coiamin. Forget the Elven Lady who has always been little more than a dream to you. Close your eyes and pretend that I was, but do not lament my passing from Rivendell, or from you, for the long years of your life stretch out in front of you, and only you have the power to keep the people of this land united as the Valar intended. May they watch over you on your path under the sky."  
  
"Arwen, please. Do not leave like this." He pleaded with her.  
  
Before she left the room she turned to him, finding him only a step behind her. "We are not bound to the circles of the world Aragorn, and I am fading. Do not despair for me as my light grows dim. Let me fade in peace. Beyond the circles of this world lies more than memory. When your time is passed, and your life spent, you will find me there, perhaps, but that shall not be for many long years, long after the light of the Evenstar has waxed and waned, and vanished from the sky of this world." Before Aragorn could say anything Arwen picked up her skirts and left the room, vanishing in the long, ancient hallway.  
  
A/N: Betcha didn't expect this.  
  
This is the real starting point of the story I set out to write. Please keep reading and responding, even if you don't like it anymore. Any feedback will be welcome.  
  
Samantha 


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: I was in a bit of shock when I checked my email. Twelve reviews for one chapter!!!!!  
  
I have completely finished this story, and did so a couple of months ago.  
  
I like Arwen/Aragorn pairings as much as the next person, but this story hung around in my head for months before I actually wrote it all down. Hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I enjoyed writing it.. maybe more. The 4am bedtimes weren't that much fun the next morning.  
  
Anyway  
  
Song used is the Lay of Luthien, written by Tolkien.  
  
Chapter 8.  
  
"Arwen, nin-iell." Elrond began, waiting for her to appear. She emerged from the curtains, an ethereal creature, a woman whose beauty could only be told of in myth and legend, and whose sorrow was beginning to match. "Are you sure you want to do this?"  
  
"There is nowhere left for me anywhere Ada, not Rivendell, or Lothlorien."  
  
"Sail for the Undying Lands then Arwen, leave your pain and suffering behind." Elrond pleaded with her.  
  
"The Undying Lands are no place for the dying, Ada. Perhaps in the Shire I shall be able to find some peace. That is all I ask of the Valar now. They will give me nothing else."  
  
****************  
  
"The leaves were long, the grass was green,  
  
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,  
  
And in the glade a light was seen  
  
Of stars in shadow shimmering.  
  
Tinuviel was dancing there  
  
To music of a pipe unseen,  
  
And light of stars was in her hair,  
  
And in her rainment glimmering."  
  
The gentle melody of the song floated upon the evening breeze, into the garden where she sat, tending to one of the younger plants which were growing steadily in the Spring sunlight. Hearing it, sung in Aragorn's clear alto voice she closed her eyes, listening. The name of the song took mere seconds for her mind give, the Lay of Luthien.  
  
"There Beren came from mountains cold,  
  
And lost he wandered under leaves,  
  
And where the Elven-river rolled  
  
He walked alone and sorrowing.  
  
He peered between the hemlock-leaves  
  
And saw in wonder flowers of gold  
  
Upon her mantle and her sleeves,  
  
And her hair like shadow following.  
  
Enchantment healed his weary feet  
  
That over hills were doomed to roam;  
  
And forth he hastened strong and fleet,  
  
And grasped at moonbeams glistening.  
  
Through woven woods in Elvenhome  
  
She lightly fled on dancing feet,  
  
And left him lonely still to roam  
  
In the silent forest listening."  
  
Momentarily calmed by the sound of his familiar voice, singing the familiar words, she didn't realise that that words had stopped coming. Before he spoke she knew that he was behind her.  
  
"Please, Aragorn. Leave me. Tomorrow I shall leave this place, then all will be as it should have been, and I will be nothing more to you than a myth, a distant memory of a past you can't quite remember, like a dream as you are waking." She did not, could not bring herself to face him, to look into his beautiful face and see Luthien's features, the same shape of their eyes, the way his mouth looked as he smiled.  
  
"It is a strange twist of fate that the only things you have ever asked of me, I am so reluctant to grant of you. Do not fear though, they are yours. May the Grace of the Valar shine upon you, Arwen Undomiel, Evenstar of the house of Elrond Half-Elven." He spoke quietly, though his voice was pained. 


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: Takes place a few months after Arwen has left Rivendell.  
  
Chapter 9.  
  
"Lady Evenstar!" Primula Brandybuck called to her. "There are big men in the village asking after you."  
  
"Thank you Primula." Arwen called back. "Do you know them?"  
  
"No, Lady. But Mama bade me come and tell you."  
  
"Tell your mother thank you as well then, young hobbit." She told the hobbit-lass, who was one of Merry's younger sisters.  
  
Intrigued by the thought of people looking for her she shrugged, making sure that her dagger was secured on her belt, then walking out into her garden to tend some of the plants.  
  
Long into the afternoon she remained alone, until working beside the pool in her garden Arwen felt the need to look up, towards the fields.  
  
Away up in the trees two Men on horse back watched her from a distance. One of the riders dismounted, and began to walk towards her, the sunlight glinting off his long hair.  
  
"Ada." She whispered to herself. "Ada!" She called to him, standing and brushing down her skirts.  
  
"Arwen." Elrond bowed his head to her.  
  
"Ada I have missed you." Arwen wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly.  
  
Smiling as he returned the embrace, Elrond spoke to her, the same words he had always spoken when she was a child. "Be still now little Evenstar. The nightmare is now over and the land of dreams awaits you once more."  
  
"Oh, Ada." Tears prickled her eyes, making her vision blurry.  
  
"I promise you Arwen. The nightmare is now over. Tinuviel is found and safe, though not yet where she belongs."  
  
"Tinuviel is found?" She repeated, pushing away from him. "Luthien?"  
  
"She is safe Arwen, long months has she been lost to us all, and now she is restored to us, to you, my daughter."  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Come Arwen." Elrond took her by the hand, leading her towards the Rider he had arrived with.  
  
Reverently the Rider bowed his head to her, placing the child down.  
  
The little girl stared up at the Elven Lady for a moment, then smiled. "Amme!"  
  
Tear coursed freely down Arwen's cheeks finally freed after months of pain and suffering. "Luthien." Holding her arms out to her child, Arwen held Luthien tightly, sobbing into her hair, while Luthien cried simply because her mother did.  
  
With a paternal air, Elrond removed his travelling cloak, laying it around her shoulders, then, sitting her down on a low stone-wall. "Arwen, be calm now. All is well." He spoke gently.  
  
She managed to stop crying and look up at him. "Where did you find her?"  
  
"Between Cirith Ungol and Minas Morgul." The Rider answered her. "Do not fear Lady. She is well."  
  
Arwen passed a gentle hand over Luthien's long, wavy tresses, then, looked up at the Rider. "You do not have to hide your face from me, Elessar."  
  
He bowed and removed his helmet. "Arwen. How did you know it was me?"  
  
"If I was blind I would know you." She said quietly. "Come now, you are all tired after your journey." She stood without any assistance from either of them, and carried Luthien, almost half asleep up to her house, which she had favoured over a hobbit hole.  
  
*******  
  
"This is nice." Elrond said, looking around at the different rooms. "You seem happy here."  
  
"I have been. Hobbits are lovely creatures, very kind." She answered quietly, having laid Luthien down on her bed, the child already sleeping deeply. She appeared behind them, walking directly into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea? Or wine? Some cake?"  
  
"Tea and cake would be lovely." Elrond said to her, sitting down at the table.  
  
"I don't suppose you've looked in on the hobbits yet?" She asked them.  
  
"No," Aragorn said, looking a little awkward. "We brought Luthien straight here."  
  
"Sam is married now. Rose is expecting their first child. Pippin is courting a hobbit lass called Diamond." She told them. "Frodo is still weary, the weight of his burden has lifted all it ever will. Soon I will send him to the Grey Havens. I have given him my place on the ship to Valinor."  
  
"What of you?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"I had intended to stay here, until I fade. Time is mine for now, but soon the Valar will take me." Arwen told them.  
  
"A Queen of the Eldar you are Arwen Undomiel." Elrond told her. "Beloved of the Valar, not cursed by them."  
  
"Death has never appeared as a curse to me, Ada. It is a gift." She turned to Aragorn. "I expect you will want to take Luthien back to Gondor with you."  
  
"She is Princess Royal, even to the people, my people who have never laid eyes upon her, save few of the Dunedain. She will return to Gondor. It is my hope though, that you return with us."  
  
"Estel do not make me choose, because I cannot. I cannot be the woman you want me to be. Not anymore. The light of the Evenstar has faded. I am not the person I used to be."  
  
"You are and more Undomiel. But you are right Arwen, you have changed. You are no longer the woman you once were, you are the dream afraid of waking."  
  
"That is right Aragorn. That is all I am, a dream. Leave Luthien here with me. Gondor is no place for her."  
  
"How can you say that Gondor is no place for a princess such as she?" Aragorn asked her. "She was born to rule in my stead."  
  
"Luthien was born because I loved you, and we both needed hope. It was my downfall, and yours too it appears." Arwen answered him.  
  
"How was needing hope my downfall?" Aragorn demanded.  
  
"You said it yourself, Luthien was born to rule in your stead. She wasn't. She was born a Princess of the Stars, a Queen of the Eldar, a gift of love from the Valar to us both. Luthien was never meant to rule a country. The only Queen she will ever be is a Queen of the Elves." Arwen said quietly. "Queen of the Valar on my passing."  
  
"What would you have me do then?" Aragorn asked her, shocked once more by her words. "Is my line to fail ere it has begun?"  
  
"If I had the heart to I would bear you another heir." She answered him. "But shorter my days have become, and I do not think my body will take the strain."  
  
"I don't understand Arwen." He admitted.  
  
"I do not have the strength to give you another heir, Aragorn. I believe it would result in my death." Her eyes were wide and honest when she looked up at him. "I can embrace the coming of my passing, and I can remain myself as I fade. But I will not leave this place before my time. Leave Luthien here with me. Let me watch my child grow."  
  
"What of when you pass?" Aragorn asked her. "I will not leave Luthien here with you, only to watch her mother fade from life."  
  
"When I have faded, before I pass, Ada will take Luthien over the Sundering Seas. She will be raised in Valinor by my parents. This is the only time I shall ever ask anything of you again Elessar."  
  
"There is nothing stopping me from taking Luthien now, and leaving this place, taking her back to Gondor where she belongs." Aragorn told her.  
  
"You will not take her from me." Arwen told him. "I am not your subject, Aragorn, and you will not take Luthien from this house."  
  
"I am King, Arwen. Not even you can disobey me."  
  
"Then leave my house, and leave the Shire. This is a self-governing province, Aragorn. You named it so yourself, you have no power here."  
  
"I will not leave Luthien here to watch you die, Arwen." Aragorn told her firmly. "And this last thing you ask of me I will not grant to you. Luthien means as much to me as she does to you."  
  
"Leave this place then Aragorn, while you still have your life." She told him, her voice deadly calm. "It will take a greater army than you will ever be able to muster to take my daughter from me again."  
  
"What kind of a life can you create for her? What kind of mother can you be? Arwen you are dying." Aragorn changed tactics again, trying to reason with her.  
  
"What kind of a life did your mother give you Aragorn? She gave up everything in order for you to live, to be born even. In your youth she said to me, 'Onen i-Estel Edain, u-chebin estel anim.' I gave hope to the Dunedain, I have kept no hope for myself. In the moment of your birth she knew that she was dying. Gilraen gave you to the life she wanted for you. She bore you so that Arathorn would have an heir to the Throne of Gondor. Luthien was not born to be your heir." She shot back. "Let me keep my daughter Aragorn, then let her pass into the West, where her kin will take care of her until she is grown. Let her be with her own people."  
  
"If she comes to Gondor she will be with her own people, Arwen."  
  
"No, Aragorn, if she goes to Gondor, one day she will find herself alone, the only one Elven bloodlines left in Middle Earth. I do not want her to feel that sorrow. Let my father bear her to where the grass is evergreen, and this changing place shall be no more than stories for her."  
  
"Stories? Dreams? Arwen you cannot run from life, nor make Luthien run from hers." Aragorn pleaded with her. "Just come to Gondor with us, let my people see my daughter. If you desire it, stay in Gondor, if only for a little while."  
  
Arwen's expression was pained, for several moments she said nothing, just breathed slowly in and out. "You do not know just what it is you have asked me to do Aragorn."  
  
"Please Arwen, if you love me at all, come, for Luthien's sake if not for mine." Aragorn pleaded with her.  
  
"I will go to Gondor with you Aragorn. But do not try to deceive me. If you try to take Luthien I will fall upon you like Sauron never could. I will take your people, your land and your throne, and destroy you."  
  
"That is some threat, Evenstar." Aragorn said light-heartedly. "I will keep it in mind."  
  
"Do not call me Evenstar, Aragorn, and do not take me lightly. It is a grave mistake." Her voice was calm, and even when she spoke to him.  
  
"Very well then. When can you leave?" He asked, not giving her any time to change her mind.  
  
"Arwen! Arwen!" A voice called as the front door was flung open.  
  
Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo burst in, all with matching expressions of worry and fear on their faces.  
  
"In the village people were saying that big men were looking for you." Frodo said quietly. "We were worried for your safety." He looked up at Aragorn and Elrond warily.  
  
"I am all right thank you." Arwen told them quietly. "Stay and have some tea and cake with us."  
  
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong, Lady Arwen?" Sam asked, noting the glances exchanged between Arwen and Aragorn.  
  
"My father and the king have found my daughter." Arwen told them, busying herself with finding four more cups and making another pot of tea. "It seems that I am going to have to make the journey to Gondor."  
  
"You don't sound like you want to go." Frodo observed, his voice calm, with a trace of underlying weariness.  
  
"I don't really." Arwen told him, placing the extra cups down on the table and beginning to pour the tea. "It seems I must do many things I am reluctant to."  
  
"If you must travel to Gondor, I will go with you." Frodo told her. "I will not let you go alone."  
  
"Arwen will not be alone on the road to Gondor, Frodo Baggins." Elrond said to him.  
  
"I understand Frodo, and will be grateful for your company." Arwen answered.  
  
"That is well then, Lady, for I would had insisted." Frodo smiled.  
  
"When can you leave?" Aragorn asked again.  
  
"When I am ready, two days, maybe." She answered, still not looking into his face.  
  
"That is well then, Arwen." Elrond said to her. "It will give us time to rest the horses, and take leave ourselves."  
  
"Thank you Ada." 


	11. Chapter 10

Updated!!!!! Ta Da!!!!  
  
This chapter is designed to help everyone understand why Arwen left Aragorn.  
  
Thanks for everyone who has reviewed, and if you get bored waiting for my next post, check out my other LoTR story, 'Lord of the Rings, Revised' and let me know what you think of that one.  
  
Thanks  
  
Samantha  
  
Chapter 10.  
  
Late into the night Arwen slipped out into the cool night air, an Elven cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders, the hood pulled up to shield her face.  
  
"I have never been to the Shire before." Aragorn said quietly.  
  
"Please, Estel, leave me." She said to him. "Go back inside and talk with Ada if you must, but leave me to my thoughts."  
  
"Please, dear Lady, just speak with me." He begged. "Tell me why, or how you have fallen so out of love with me."  
  
"I..." Arwen began, unsure of how to describe these things to him in words.  
  
"Walk with me. You are safe Arwen." He reassured her.  
  
She nodded, falling into step beside him. "All I can ever see is your face, Estel. Your face, Luthien's face. They are so similar. I do not want you to endure the pain that I do. I know that you still love me, even after all the things I have said to you, asked you to do."  
  
"How do you..." Aragorn began.  
  
"Legolas and Gimli don't only visit you." She told him pointedly. "Somewhere deep inside I may still love you. But I will not let you die for me. I will not let the Valar take you before your time."  
  
"The Valar will take me when I am ready to die, Arwen. Not before." Aragorn told her.  
  
"No, Elessar, no. If you and I were to remain as in love as we once were, it would kill you, many years before your time. If I said yes to you now, and allowed you to act on the feelings you have for me. On my passing you would beg for death. I will not let you do that."  
  
"I still don't understand, Arwen. How could loving you kill me?"  
  
"Loving me would kill you because you love me too much, and I am fading. You know this." She bowed her head, the folds of her cloak hiding her face from him. "I will not let you die for me."  
  
"Whom I die for is my choice Undomiel, and my choice still may yet be you." Aragorn answered her.  
  
"Then may the Valar help you." She stopped walking and looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones.  
  
"Arwen please. I would rather have a short time with the one I truly love, than spend all of my time left in Middle Earth alone. Won't you say you would too?"  
  
"You forget that for most of my time in Middle Earth, I have been alone Aragorn. I have already had my time with the one I love. Now I look onwards to the rest, and peace that I know is mine. I look onwards to the fading of the Evenstar, and my parting from this world."  
  
"Please Arwen."  
  
"Before I left Rivendell, I told you that we are not bound to the circles of this world. Beyond those circle is more than memory. There lies Beren and Luthien, Arathorn, Gilraen, and countless others. That is where I shall wait for you. Beyond life, beyond death, I will see you there."  
  
Then, once more she walked away from him, shrouded in darkness.  
  
"Master," Aragorn began as he sat outside Arwen's house with his foster father. "I don't know what to do."  
  
"Listen." Elrond told him. "Listen." The breeze swept through the trees, making a whistling sound. Aragorn closed his eyes, trying to hear what Elrond was asking him to listen to, but all he could hear was the sound of the wind in the trees. "A wise woman once told you to stop, and breathe when you were unsure. She was right. Allowing other things, other emotions to cloud your judgement renders it useless Aragorn. I have taught you this before."  
  
"Do you think I should leave Arwen here with Luthien?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"It is not my decision to make." Elrond said quietly.  
  
"I do not know. I want to see my daughter, my only child upon the Throne of Gondor, and I know that if Arwen would begin living again she would be happy. She may even stop fading."  
  
"That does not change anything for her." Elrond told him. "She will not let you die for her, and she does not want you to grieve either. You look for how much this hurts you Aragorn, and I know that it does, but it hurts my daughter just as much, if not more. In asking you to release her of all bonds she made to you, she had you release yourself. She wants you to marry and be happy. Arwen wants to see you happy before she dies. Otherwise she will fade, consumed with grief."  
  
"I do not want anyone else, Ada." Aragorn slipped into using the name from his childhood for the Elven Lord. "I only want her. Does she not see that?"  
  
"She sees that, and more my son." Elrond laid his hand on Aragorn's shoulder reassuringly. "Do not ask too much more of Undomiel. I do not think she will give in again."  
  
"What am I to do then?"  
  
"Whatever is in your heart Aragorn. Do whatever is in your heart." With those words Elrond left the King of Men to think over everything he had been said. 


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.  
  
On the day of their departure the sky was clear, the rays of sunlight filtering down onto the land, illuminating the dew that had fallen, making the grass sparkle like it had been strewn with diamonds.  
  
Arwen looked out over the lands as she lifted Asfaloth's saddle onto his back, then focusing her attention back to the task at hand, drawing the girth strap and adjusting several items in her saddle bags so that the big grey horse was comfortable.  
  
"Are you ready, Arwen?"  
  
She looked up, into her father's face, his gentle voice a soothing balm to the wounds on her soul.  
  
"I am ready Ada." Her voice was resigned as she spoke, the weight that the journey to Gondor imposed, echoed heavily in her voice.  
  
"Be still little Evenstar. All is well." He tried to reassure her.  
  
"All is not well." She told him, placing one foot in the nearest stirrup and swinging up into the saddle. "Pass Luthien up to me." She requested, steadying the horse with the reins in one hand, reaching down to take Luthien with the other.  
  
"Are you sure you can handle her Arwen?" Aragorn asked worriedly, holding his own horse by the reins.  
  
"We are both fine." She told him, leaving no room for argument.  
  
"As you wish then, Lady." Aragorn placated her, as Arwen heeled Asfaloth forward, setting off towards Bree.  
  
Sighing Aragorn mounted his own horse, he and Lord Elrond following behind her, the hobbits Frodo Baggins, and Merry Brandybuck bringing up the rear.  
  
*******  
  
As they rode, Arwen kept to the side of them, slightly away from both Aragorn and her father, a deep piercing pain coming over her. She held Luthien close, protecting the little girl, though Arwen was unsure what she was protecting her daughter from.  
  
The small group travelled swiftly, unhindered by darkness, light, or sleep.  
  
It was dark by the time they rode into Bree, though the watchman let them straight in. At the Inn of the Prancing Pony, where Arwen and the hobbits had stayed on their way to the Shire, the group was met by an escourt of Dunedain, Rangers, the elite guard of Gondor, the king's most prized soldiers.  
  
"King Elessar! Long have we waited for you to return. Did your business in the Shire bode well?" One of the Rangers called to Aragorn.  
  
"All is well Halbarand, son of Halbarad." Aragorn answered to him. "We will stay tonight at the inn. Go and ask Butterbur if he can spare four more rooms."  
  
"Yes my lord."  
  
As they dismounted, one of the Rangers lead Asfaloth off to the stables, promising to bring Arwen's and Luthien's things into the inn.  
  
"Come now Arwen." Elrond told her. "You and Luthien are both safe here." He took her gently by the hand and lead her into the inn.  
  
In the parlor, Arwen stripped off Luthien's wet cloak and vest, placing the child onto one of the large armchairs while Arwen removed her own wet things, pushing the hood of her cloak away from her face.  
  
As she unclasped the broach at her throat, another pair of hands removed the sodden garment from her shoulders. She turned to see Aragorn standing behind her. "I do not ask these things of you, Aragorn. All I want is for you to leave me in peace." She told him.  
  
"My apologies." Aragorn bowed his head to her.  
  
"I will take Luthien upstairs now. She should have a bath and get warmed up." Arwen told him.  
  
Aragorn nodded, his expression pained. He turned away from her. "Butterbur? Would you take Lady Undomiel to her room please?" He called to the barman.  
  
After they had left the inn, Arwen spoke little to the others, remaining aloof, though she reluctantly surrendered Luthien to Aragorn for a short while, riding alone at the edge of the company, Asfaloth restless beneath her. 


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews everyone, and if you don't like where I'm going with this, feel free to tell me, but in no way will it mean that I change the story from what I have already written, which at this point in time, is completed, just not all on ff.net, yet anyway. Believe me I'm working on it.  
  
The song in this part is one of Tolkien's, not mine, you know how the disclaim goes.  
  
Not mine.. blah, blah, blah.  
  
Samantha.  
  
Chapter 12.  
  
As they rode, Luthien began to fuss, wailing in distress. Arwen slowed Asfaloth, leaning further back in the saddle to cradle Luthien against her own body. She rested one hand gently on the child's forehead, feeling how hot it was.  
  
Leaving go of Asfaloth's reins she reached down into her saddle bags and pulled out a small blue vial of fluid. Uncapping it with her teeth, she poured the whole vial down Luthien's throat, and wrapped the woven Elven blanket more tightly around the sick child.  
  
Sighing, pained because she was unable to do anything else for her daughter, Arwen began to sing.  
  
"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:  
  
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.  
  
Beyond the sun, beyond the moon, the foam was on the Sea,  
  
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden tree.  
  
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in the Eldamar it shone,  
  
In Eldamar in beside the walls of Elven Tirion."  
  
Her father, Lord Elrond rode up beside her. "Is everything all right, Arwen?"  
  
"Luthien is ill Ada. Tell Aragorn he must turn off to Lothlorien." She answered, checking the fire of Luthien's fever once more.  
  
"I will tell him." Elrond answered her, bowing his head before he rode towards the head of the column.  
  
As she watched him go, Arwen began to sing again, her voice gentle and soothing to her ill daughter.  
  
"There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,  
  
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.  
  
O Lorien! The Winter comes, the bear and leafless Day;  
  
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away."  
  
Once more, Arwen stopped singing, this time because Aragorn rode over to her.  
  
"What is wrong?" He asked.  
  
"Luthien is ill, Aragorn. Turn for Lothlorien, or I will take Luthien and go alone." She told him.  
  
"What is wrong with her?"  
  
"She's burning up, Elessar. I have already given her all of the medicine I have. We must go to Lothlorien."  
  
"We will. I will turn now." He reassured her, then rode back to the front of the company, turning the front towards Lothlorien.  
  
"Don't worry, my little one. We will be safe in Lorien soon, Amme promises, little one. I will make you better." Arwen reassured the sick child before she continued in the song, feeling the weight of the words.  
  
"O Lorien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore  
  
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.  
  
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,  
  
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?"  
  
When the company arrived on the edge of the Golden Wood, a group of Elvish archers were waiting for them. "How did you know to meet us?" Aragorn asked them, once he had dismounted.  
  
"The Lady Galadriel, Queen of the Eldar in Middle Earth bade us wait for you to arrive." One Elf told them.  
  
"Haldir," Arwen called to him. "I must see Galadriel and Celeborn, I must get to Caras Galadhon at once." Elrond reached up to take Luthien while she dismounted, then passed her back immediately once Arwen was safe on the ground.  
  
"Come then, Lady Undomiel." Haldir turned to give the archers several orders, then helped Arwen up into the saddle of a fresh horse, then mounting his own, and the pair of them rode hard, deep into the ancient forest, leaving the others far behind.  
  
In the city, Arwen and Haldir rode right up to the famed silver staircase, seen by very few besides the Elves themselves.  
  
Without hesitation Arwen dismounted, holding Luthien close to her body, then started up the stairs, something unheard of ever before.  
  
At the top of the stairs the silver doors opened, and Galadriel and Celeborn began their descent. Both of them stared at Arwen in surprise. "Undomiel, what has happened?" Galadriel asked.  
  
"Ada and Aragorn found Luthien and I am being forced to go to Gondor. We are on our way there now, but Luthien is ill." Arwen told them in a rush.  
  
"Rest easy little Evenstar." Celeborn reassured her, taking the sickly child from her mother's arms, while Galadriel placed her arm around Arwen leading her back up the stairs, into the Lord and Lady's private quarters. 


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13.  
  
A/N: For everyone who asked why Luthien is sick, maybe it is because she has the blood of Men in her, I never really considered it before.  
  
Again, the story is already finished, so for those who complain about Arwen and Aragorn, no offense, but too bad. All I will post is what I have written, no exceptions, flame if you like, and if you think it's really bad, stop reading.  
  
Thanks for reading though everyone, and for reviewing and everything. This is one of the two stories that I've actually received a hundred reviews on, so thank you again, and I do hope that people enjoy the story.  
  
Samantha  
  
Soon after, Luthien was tucked up in bed, being tended to by both Celeborn, and an Elvish healer named Zalos, and Arwen was bathed and clothed in the gown of an Elvish lady, in the traditional white and silver of Lothlorien. Arwen sat by Luthien's bed singing softly to the child in her native Elvish as she dozed.  
  
'Ai! laurie lantar lassi surienen,  
  
yeni unotime ve ramar aldaron!  
  
Yeni ve linte yuldar avanier  
  
mi oromardi lisse-miruvoeva  
  
Andune pella, Vardo tellumar  
  
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni  
  
omaryo airetari-lirinen.  
  
Si man i yulma nin equantuva?  
  
An si Tintalle Varda Oiolosseo  
  
ve fanyar maryat Elentari ortane,  
  
ar ilye tier undulave lumbule;  
  
ar sindanoriello caita mornie  
  
i falmalinnar imbe met, ar hisie  
  
untupa Calaciryo miri oiale.  
  
Si vanwa na, Romello vanwa, Valimar!  
  
Namarie! Nai hiruvalye Valimar.  
  
Nai elye hiruva. Namarie!'  
  
As she finished the door opened, with Galadriel entering, sitting down beside her granddaughter. "You are more troubled than I have ever seen you, Undomiel. Tell me, what ails you?"  
  
"I do not want to go to Gondor, Galadriel. I do not want to set foot in the White City, Aragorn's city." She paused, ordering her thoughts. "He will not let me fade in peace. I want to have Luthien with me until I fade. Before I die, Ada can take her over the sea to Valinor, there he and Naneth will raise her. Aragorn wants to put her on the Throne of Gondor. She was not born for that. I do not want her to be the only Elf left in Middle Earth. I do not want her to grow up alone in this world that has changed so much."  
  
Tears streaked Arwen's cheeks as she spoke. "I do not want for her to fade also. I am resigned to my fate. I am fading and already losing strength. If I had the strength I would give Aragorn another heir, one that he could put of the Throne of Gondor, but I do not have the strength. I will fade, like all stars in their time, and then I will die."  
  
"Your life is not a curse Arwen." Galadriel said quietly. "No." Arwen agreed, "My life is not a curse, nor shall my death be. I have had my time in this Middle Earth, and I have lived the time I was given with the one I love, my daughter will grow up to be brave and strong, a proper Lady of the Houses of Rivendell and Lothlorien. All my dreams are met. There is nothing left for me now. All I wish for is that I might fade in peace, away from the rest of the world, from Orcs and Men, who do me such harm."  
  
"Aragorn does not wish to harm you Undomiel. He loves you."  
  
"He shouldn't. I have done everything I can to make him stop loving me. I do not want him to pass on my fading. I couldn't bear it. No Galadriel, I will not let him die for me. He still has many years left in this Middle Earth. If it weren't for me he would marry Eowyn, the Sheildmaiden of Rohan." As she spoke, Lord Elrond and Aragorn entered the room.  
  
From the look in her father's eyes Arwen knew that they had both heard every word she had said.  
  
"Luthien is recovering." Galadriel told them. "But she is still very ill."  
  
"You would have me marry Eowyn?" Aragorn asked Arwen.  
  
"It is what is meant to be." Arwen said softly. "If you let her she will give you all that I cannot."  
  
"All that you will not." Aragorn rephrased for her.  
  
"If you do not..." Arwen began.  
  
"Out, both of you." Celeborn commanded. "Luthien has only began recovering."  
  
Angry beyond words, feeling all of the frustration and pain and anguish building up inside of her, Arwen let loose at him the second they were out of the room.  
  
"You don't care about Luthien, Aragorn. You only ever came to Rivendell to see me. You only went to find her so that you could have me. I raised her, while you were away, and I was desperate to go with you, to be with you, and you never cared about her."  
  
"That's ridiculous Arwen. You know that I love you, and Luthien." He fired back at her.  
  
"You don't act like it." She shouted back at him, an uncharacteristic thing for her, making all of the Elves in the House of Light stop what they were doing. No one had ever heard Arwen shouting before, not even as a child. "All you care about is... I don't know what you care about, but I hope it isn't me."  
  
"Arwen please." He began again.  
  
"No don't. Do not beg me to listen to you. I have already given you all the advice I ever will, and I have already given everything I have, everything I am for you. I can't do any more Aragorn. I can't."  
  
"What can't you do Arwen?" He asked, begging her for an answer.  
  
"I can't ever be what you want me to be, King Elessar."  
  
"Arwen..."  
  
"Lady Undomiel." She corrected him, seeing his face fall. "You are not my equal any more, and I am not your servant. Do what you will, my Lord, but expect nothing more from me." 


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14.  
  
A/N: Thanks guys, I really appreciate your feedback. Here's the next chapter.  
  
Samantha.  
  
*********  
  
As she re-entered Luthien's bedroom, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn all looked up at her.  
  
She said nothing, but moved to Luthien's bedside. "Hush, my little one. Amme is here." Arwen passed a gentle hand over the little girl's forehead, feeling the heat still there, a pained look in her eyes.  
  
Elrond laid a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Be still little Evenstar. All will be well." He reassured her.  
  
"Ada please." She whimpered, turning to look at him. "Make it all stop. Make all the pain go away."  
  
Elrond simply embraced her, holding tightly to his daughter, who was dying as she stood there in his arms.  
  
"Arwen, go into the Golden Wood as you did when you were a small child. Perhaps the answers you seek, relief from the pain and sorrow you feel can be found there." Galadriel told her. "I will watch over Luthien while she sleeps."  
  
"Go." Elrond said quietly. "We will not leave Luthien's bedside."  
  
Pained and full of sorrow, Arwen turned to leave the room, barely able to contain the tears that threatened to fall.  
  
As she left the private palace of Celeborn and Galadriel Arwen stopped in the Garden of Galadriel, gathering water in the silver jug, as she seen her grandmother do a thousand times, pouring it slowly into the pool of still water, laid into the podium.  
  
As the last drop of water from the jug trickled into the pool, Arwen spoke quietly. "I will look into the mirror."  
  
The surface of the waters simply reflected starlight for scant moments, before the pinpricks of light dissolved and images began to form.  
  
In the mirror Arwen saw herself, with Galadriel, both sitting on the edge of the fountain not far from where she sat.  
  
'Remember Arwen, the mirror shows three things, things that were, things that are happening as you watch them, and things that have not yet come to pass.'  
  
The next scene shown was an older version of her, this time riding, practicing archery and swordplay, and laughing with friends and kin.  
  
Yet another showed her presentation ball, which precious few had been invited to attend. Only close friends and family Elrond had said.  
  
Image after image Arwen saw reflected in the mirror, her life, her mother, all the trials, blessings and moments that had made her the woman she was.  
  
The last image the mirror showed was darkened, by twilight she realised, the sun setting over Cerin Amroth while two figures stood there on the hill, hand in hand, staring lovingly into each other's eyes.  
  
In her heart she knew that the pair were herself and Aragorn, and the sorrow cut deeper into her soul than anything ever had before.  
  
In spite of herself, and all the attempts to prevent her tears from falling Arwen began to weep, sobbing for all of the moments she had spent with Aragorn, for the joy she had felt while they made Luthien, and while she carried her daughter, for all of the moments she has lost, and the pain she had endured when Luthien had been taken from her, and the deep realization that she was fading, leaving her world bleak and dark, like nightfall in winter as it would always come, without a star to light the darkened sky.  
  
Still bound to her grief, to the pain and anguish striking deep wounds onto her very soul Arwen sunk down beside the fountain, unsure who exactly she was grieving for, but certain that somewhere deep down, she was crying for herself.  
  
Once her agonised sobs had abated, Arwen rose slowly to her feet and began to walk, the path familiar, even though it had been long years since she had laid her feet on the path.  
  
In the dimming light Arwen arrived at Cerin Amroth. She dropped to her knees at the top of the hill, clasping her hands to her breast.  
  
"May the Valar light my way and guide my footsteps, for the path I am set upon is unclear to me. May the Great Kings and Queens of the Eldar shine upon me and light my path." She whispered, praying to the sky, to the stars brightening against the twilight.  
  
As she finished speaking a white light glowed around her body, and a gentle, reassuring voice told her to go to sleep. 


	16. Chpater 15

Chapter 15.  
  
A/N: No, Arwen is not dead for crying out loud. That's a little anti- climatic, even for me. Just keep reading and I think you'll enjoy.  
  
There's only a few parts left to post after this one, including the epilogue, so as always love it or hate it, tell me what you think.  
  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed for me, especially galadriel evenstar, LadyJadePerendhil, Cerridwen-Evereven, Gionareth, Annunathwin Tindomiel, Kekelina, and peaches-503, but also to everyone else who has reviewed for me since the beginning of the story.  
  
Now, on to the story.  
  
Samantha.  
  
**********  
  
"She sleeps, though I cannot wake her."  
  
"Is this part of fading?" Elrond asked, his voice worried.  
  
"No." Galadriel's voice was soft, distant. "She is not in this place in this moment. For now Arwen dwells in a place separate from this."  
  
"Where?" Aragorn asked her, his voice carrying a harsh edge to it.  
  
The fair-haired Elven queen turned to face him, her features serene, unchanged by the strange turn of events. "Where not even you can reach her, Aragorn, son of Arathorn." She answered him, turning back to Elrond and Celeborn. "Arwen dwells now with the Valar, where exactly I do not know. Perhaps over the Sundering Seas in Valinor, perhaps..."  
  
"Perhaps where?" Elrond asked, a twinge of fear in his voice.  
  
"Perhaps for now she has left the circles of this world, where her life is more or less than memory." Galadriel's voice was still calm, tranquil.  
  
"When will she return?" Aragorn asked.  
  
"It is difficult to say." Galadriel turned to look upon Arwen's still form resting peacefully on the ornately carved bed. "She may return in mere moments, days. Perhaps she will never return to us at all." The Elven Queen looked upon her sleeping granddaughter. "I fear that we have not given her a great many reasons to come back to us."  
  
"You're saying she may never wake up." Haldir's words were strangely loud in the silent room.  
  
"She is taking council with the great Kings and Queens of the Eldar. If she is offered the choice of eternal rest Arwen may not want to come back to us." Galadriel's voice remained calm, even as she spoke, voicing her fears to the others.  
  
"Death has never appeared as a curse to me, Ada. It is a gift." Elrond's voice was a mere whisper.  
  
He looked up at the others. "In the Shire she spoke those words to me. She has lived a hard and painful life. Arwen wants to die. My daughter wants to die." The Elven man's face was filled with sorrow, his voice heavy with anguish.  
  
"Master Elrond, be still." Celeborn bade him.  
  
"I fault myself for this." Elrond said aloud. "I should have kept you both apart. I should have never allowed you to meet. You should have realized in the beginning that she was too special for you, too alive." In a gesture uncharacteristic of him, Elrond reached out and took hold of Aragorn's collar, lifting him several inches from the floor. "You should have left her alone."  
  
"Master Elrond!" Haldir stepped forward to break up Elrond and Aragorn, pushing them roughly apart.  
  
"This is not the time." Celeborn stated firmly.  
  
"You will all leave this chamber immediately." Galadriel said, turning away from them. "I will watch over my granddaughter, and do my best to call her home to us. You should go to Luthien, watch over her. It is what Arwen would want." 


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: Here we go, Chapter 16. From memory there are only two or three more chapters after this one and yes I know that this is a short one.  
  
Happy reading, and as always, tell me what you think.  
  
Samantha.  
  
**************  
  
Chapter 16.  
  
"Lady Undomiel, wake and be comforted." A gentle voice called to her.  
  
Obediently, Arwen opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. "Where am I?"  
  
"You are where you choose to be, for now." The voice answered.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Vana is my name." The voice answered, the woman turning around, a shawl of dark waves falling around her, similar to Arwen's own dark tresses, though the other woman's hair was so dark it was almost black. "It served me well when I dwelled in Middle Earth."  
  
"I don't understand." Arwen looked up into the other woman's eyes.  
  
"You were never meant to feel such pain, Lady Undomiel. The Valar seek to bring you peace, if you wish it. If not you may return to the gardens of Lothlorien, fairest dwelling of Elves in Middle Earth."  
  
"So the Valar brought me here?"  
  
"The Valar asked if you wanted to come here. Fading and in pain, you allowed us to bring you here, to where you may find peace."  
  
"This is not my body." Arwen brushed her hands down the physical form she was in.  
  
"No. You are right. Your physical body, the form you have used all you life long was left in Lothlorien. Here you are pure in body and spirit."  
  
"Why am I here?" She asked.  
  
"Because you are being given a choice. The choice will not affect those you care about who remain in Middle Earth. It is for you, and only you. The Valar have felt your pain and suffering Lady Undomiel. The choice placed before you is this, you may return to the Middle Earth, to your suffering and fade like a star when all light is gone, where your body rests under the watchful care of your grandmother, the Lady of Lothlorien. Or you may remain here in peace and serenity for ever and always, until all you knew is but a memory of the land, a whisper from the past."  
  
"This is my choice?" Arwen asked her.  
  
"It is dear Lady, and choose wisely." Vana answered her.  
  
"If I were to remain in Middle Earth, for a time, would I still be able change my mind, if I was unhappy."  
  
"If Middle Earth is your choice, you may do this. But think hard on the pain and suffering you have endured. Do you not deserve peace at last?"  
  
"My only peace is knowing that my daughter is happy and well, and that I may live to see her grow up, just a little more."  
  
"If you choose to remain in Middle Earth, your salvation, should you desire it, will be that you may pass over the Sundering Seas, into Valinor, if your heart desires it."  
  
Arwen closed her eyes, picturing Luthien's face, her blue eyes and dark brown tresses, delicate Elven features and pointed ears. "I have only just recieved my daughter back into my arms. She lies ill in the Palace of Galadriel."  
  
"Because your child suffers, you suffer Lady Undomiel." Vana told her. "Speak the words to me, and all your suffering shall end."  
  
"Your offer tempts me, to stay here in peace and serenity until the world has changed so much that not even the land remembers my name. But my heart is bound to Middle Earth, and I do to wish to be parted from my home, even if it shall only be my home for a little while." Arwen said softly. "I beg you to let me return to Middle Earth."  
  
"You do not have to beg, only ask, Lady. You shall return to Middle Earth, but take some time now and think on your decision, think about what you will do when you return, the choices you will make." Vana answered her. "I must leave you now, but I will return shortly to say farewell before you are returned to Middle Earth."  
  
***********  
  
Arwen stood in the etheral mists, allowing them to swirl around her body, closing her eyes she conjured up images of Luthien, of her father, Galadriel, Celeborn, her mother, Elladan and Elrohir, and finally Aragorn.  
  
She remained that way, eyes closed, lost in memory until Vana returned to her.  
  
"Lady Undomiel," The woman interrupted her thoughts. "It is time to go now."  
  
"I am ready." Arwen said softly.  
  
"Then close your eyes." Vana instructed her. "Relax your mind and your body."  
  
Behind her closed eyelids Arwen saw a blinding flash of light, which became an ethereal white mist, clearing slowly. 


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17.  
  
Slowly Arwen opened her eyes, the light clouding her vision for scant moments. People were talking in the room, somewhere beside her head.  
  
"She may never wake up. From what Galadriel has told Arwen may never return to us, and for that I find you responsible."  
  
"Perhaps if you had not sheltered her from all of Middle Earth this would not have happened either. Do not look to blame me for your shortcomings, Master." Aragorn hissed, clearly angered.  
  
Wishing to put a stop to the argument, Arwen sat up, the feather light Elven blankets falling away from her body. "I will not let you fight over me." She said quietly, frightening both men. "I have made my choice, and now all will have to live with it. Stop arguing or leave my side forever."  
  
"Arwen!" Elrond stared at her as if he was seeing a ghost.  
  
"Do not trifle with me Ada. I will not bear witness to your arguments, I am wrought with enough pain and suffering which this world has given unto me. Do not seek to add to those burdens." She told him, her voice clear and firm, but still gentle and soothing.  
  
"You have made your choice little Evenstar." Galadriel's voice was soft, reassuring as she entered the room.  
  
"I have." Arwen rose from the bed. "For a time I have returned to Middle Earth. Exactly how long I remain here, I cannot say, so do not ask it of me."  
  
"Arwen, you must rest, you have been ill." Aragorn told her, watching the Elven maiden walk slowly about the room.  
  
"Where is Luthien?" She asked, ignoring him.  
  
"In the courtyard." Galadriel told her, "She is playing with several of my hand maidens."  
  
"She is well then?"  
  
"For several days now." The Elven Queen told her.  
  
"Please, excuse me." Arwen told everyone, leaving the room, walking slowly down the stairs and into the courtyard.  
  
*********  
  
"Amme!" The little girl cried, seeing her mother.  
  
"Hush now little one." Arwen told the child. "I am here now."  
  
"Yes, you are little Evenstar." Elrond began. "Tell us, what was your choice?"  
  
"I will remain in Middle Earth, for a time, until I desire the salvation of the Valar, or until the end of my life." She answered, holding Luthien in her arms.  
  
"You wish to die?" Aragorn asked. "Have I hurt you so much that you now prefer death to life?"  
  
"No, King Elessar. I now prefer peace to conflict, and I have seen much conflict. I do not wish to see or partake in any more." Arwen told him. "Everything that has a beginning, has an end. Such is life."  
  
"And at the end of your life, you will die." Elrond said, his voice almost cracking.  
  
"Do not grieve for me, for I have chosen my fate." Arwen said simply, "This is what I chose, and no more. I will remain in Lorien. My home of Rivendell troubles my heart, and I do not wish to travel further than this. From now until forever I will make the Gardens of Lothlorien my home."  
  
"You will not come to the White City?" Aragorn asked her.  
  
"I do not wish to, I never wished to. You may come and see Luthien, King Elessar. But I will not bind her to grief, she shall never set foot in the White City of Gondor." 


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue.  
  
Years after their conversation in Lothlorien, King Elessar stood on the dock at the Grey Havens, watching the Elves say their farewells to those they loved who would remain in Middle Earth.  
  
Luthien stood by her mother, an echo of her mother's beauty, blessed with the same long, dark tresses as her mother, and ethereal blue eyes.  
  
He watched as Arwen spoke to her for a moment, then Luthien walked over to him.  
  
"Farewell Ada. I will miss you." At one hundred and four Luthien was still considered a child by the Elves, and she acted it, glowing with the brilliance and splendor of youth.  
  
"I will not ask you to stay." He told her, reaching out to embrace his daughter. "Be well, and think of me."  
  
"I will Ada, every day I will think of you."  
  
"Namaarie Estel." Arwen spoke softly, moving to stand beside Luthien. "Luthien, you must go and say farewell to Sam, Merry and Pippin."  
  
"Ever is thy sight a joy, Lady Undomiel." He told her once Luthien had left them. "May you have a safe and pleasant journey."  
  
"Estel a'vanwarin cheb coi." She told him. "I go now to find my rest in Valinor, where the world shall never end, and my troubles will cease. i'taid na sui padauva ned Menel." *Remember, hope and love to keep life. Each moment shall be like walking in Heaven.*  
  
"We are not bound to the circles of the world, Arwen, beyond them lies more than memory. I will wait for you there, mela en'coiamin." *Love of my life.*  
  
"I will not make you a promise I may not keep." Arwen said to him. "Instead, I shall say farewell, Estel, Aragorn, Elessar. I shall not forget you."  
  
With those words she walked away, onto the ship, leaving Aragorn nothing to do, save watch as the ship departed, until it vanished in the distance and he could see it no longer.  
  
***************  
  
Many years hence, King Legolas looked to the sky from the balcony of his palace; the much aged King Elessar standing by him.  
  
As they looked to the stars, one began to glow with and unearthly radiance, shining brightly for scant moments until the glow was extinguished, and the star shone no more.  
  
"So comes the passing of the Lady Evenstar." Legolas said quietly. "I will not mourn the passing of the Evenstar, though it is in my heart to do so."  
  
"Perhaps now she will find peace." Aragorn whispered, his eyes full of sorrow, though he shed no tears. Legolas knew that his friend's grief was deeper than tears, lamentations and sorrow.  
  
A/N: So there you have it, the Epilogue to 'Little Evenstar.' Thank you to everyone who ever reviewed, I hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
  
Sad to say, but since this story, I've made tentative starts at other LotR stories, but I haven't really sunk my teeth into anything and given it direction, but I am working on it... soon... hopefully. I'm trying to get some of the stories I'm already working on finished before I start too many more.  
  
Again, thanks everyone,  
  
Samantha. 


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